2016 Spring Line: Twin Bed and Age of Elves

It’s been a long year since my last update (!) but I hope I can make up for it with some exciting news.

First off, I’ve been somewhat absent from the micro-press world because I’ve been very present in the maxi-press world. Since February, I’ve been a full-time associate editor at First Second. I’ve been putting in some long hours at the office, and my side projects have taken a hit. (I’m 100% happy with this bargain.)

BUT! I still wanted to release two publications this spring. And one of those books was to be authored by ME, the world’s slowest cartoonist. (No really, I’m the one! Hi!) It’s been quite a while since I put out a comic of my own. It took a lot of long nights, but I was able to put it together right before MoCCA.

The second comics is by my friend Colin Lidston, who I first met when he wandered into Desert Island a few years ago. He’s a painter, and he was trying to learn how to be a cartoonist. I’m happy to have published his first comic.

With that, I’ll introduce you to the new books!

Twin Bed is a comic about a relationship, as told through a series of scenes from a small bed in a tiny New York apartment. The perspective never changes. (if you’ve read Richard McQuire’s Here, it’s a similar idea–but time only moves forward at a natural pace.)

The comic itself looks like a twin bed: it’s nested in a slipcase that resembles blankets. To open the book, you must pull the covers of the bed. I actually conceived of the packing first, and built the story later.

(I plan to talk a little more about Twin Bed in the future. It has an unusual construction that’s key to the concept of the book.)

The Age of Elves is a comic about the souls of geeks. It follows the story of Sarah Loeb, a teenager with aspirations of being a fantasy illustrator. Issue one introduces us to Sarah and her friends on a typical day in the summer of 2000. Pizza is consumed, RPG adventures are had, and there’s a particularly heated debate about what’s really in that suitcase in Pulp Fiction.

Both of the books are available in the shop. I also did a short and successful Kickstarter. (Check out the cool video!) I’ll be bringing these to a few conventions this year (SPX, Columbus Crossroads, etc.). And I’ll be getting started on the 2015 Micro-Press Yearbook soon. I’m not sure what my next big project is, but I have some ideas.